There weren’t many Warriors fans who were able to get into Golden1 Center for the Game 1 loss to the Kings — and perhaps one of the most famous didn’t see the end of the game, either.
Bay Area rap legend E-40, whose real name is Earl Tywone Stevens Sr., appears to have been kicked out of Saturday night’s game sometime in the fourth quarter.
Stevens, a devout Warriors fan who was seated in his usual spot near the Golden State bench, was confronted by Golden1 Center security personnel, as one Twitter video showed. After some contentious moments, multiple videos show a Warriors security member step in and escort Stevens to the tunnel, with Andre Iguodala following, too.
It wasn’t entirely clear what, exactly, caused Stevens to be removed on the videos. But one fan in attendance who spoke to Bay Area News Group and asked not to be named said a female Kings fan was yelling at Stevens to sit down throughout the game, leading Stevens to turn around and retort back.
The fan said words were exchanged and included profanity, which prompted the Golden1 Center security personnel to respond quickly. As Stevens left toward the tunnel, he continued to yell expletives towards the Kings fan who he has exchanged words with, even pointing towards them.
The Twitter video shows Stevens, Warriors security personnel, Golden1 Center security personnel and Iguodala all walking toward the tunnel. When Stevens was back near the bench, several Warriors players, including Kevon Looney, can be seen looking towards the incident.
Stevens typically sits right next to the Golden State bench at Warriors home games in the Chase Center. He was one of several celebrities in attendance for the NorCal playoff matchup, including rapper 50 Cent and Barry Bonds, the Giants legend who also owns a piece of the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats (which are primarily owned by the Kings).
The Kings did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the incident.
The Kings came from behind to beat the Warriors 126-123 in Game 1 on Saturday. The two teams will play in Sacramento again on Monday for Game 2 before the series shifts to San Francisco for Game 3 on Thursday.
